CSU women snap 5-game skid

Dec. 16, 2012

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There were times Sunday when it appeared neither CSU nor Cal State-Bakersfield wanted to win the women’s basketball game they were playing at Moby Arena.

A lot of times.

Yet a Colorado State University team that missed 11 of its first 12 shots from the floor and fell behind by as many as 13 points midway through the first half, changed its mentality at halftime and made just enough plays down the stretch to pull out a 56-54 win before a crowd announced at 981 fans that was closer to half that total.

There was nothing pretty about the win, which snapped a five-game losing streak. But it was a win, and after a month of losing, the Rams (3-6) were more than happy to take it.

“Right now, we don’t care how ugly it was,” CSU junior Sam Martin said. “It was a win, and we really needed it.”

Freshman guard Caitlin Duffy scored 22 points for the Rams, including a free throw to tie the game with 7.7 seconds remaining, and Martin added 14, scoring the winning points on two free throws with 4.8 seconds left.

“My shot was not falling at all tonight, even in the lane it wasn’t falling,” said Martin, who missed 13 of 17 shots from the floor. “But every time you step to the free-throw line, you can’t even think about the score. It’s just your shot; it’s what you’ve been doing. I’ve been shooting free throws since like fourth grade, so you just kind of do it.”

Still, it wasn’t over yet. Cal State-Bakersfield called a timeout to set up a final shot and got a surprisingly good one. But Janae Coffee, playing in her first game after missing the previous eight with an injury, missed an open layup at the buzzer.

“We got lucky,” first-year CSU coach Ryun Williams said.

The Rams did get lucky. But they also created some of that luck with inspired play in the second half following a lackluster first half.

The Roadrunners (2-9) hit 4 of 5 3-pointers during a four-minute stretch midway through the first half to turn an 8-4 edge into a 22-9 lead and still led 30-21 at halftime. CSU had no offensive flow in the first half and shot just 28 percent (7 of 25) from the floor.

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But the Rams opened the second half with a 12-2 run to take their first lead on a Meghan Heimstra jumper with 15:43 remaining, then battled toe-to-toe down the stretch with a Cal State-Bakersfield team that was every bit as hungry for a win as the Rams were. There were 10 lead changes in the final 15 minutes and just three points scored – all by the Rams – in the final 3:43.

Senior guard Amber Williams scored 17 points for the Roadrunners, who had blown a late 10-point lead and lost in overtime Thursday night at Air Force. Cal State-Bakersfield committed 23 turnovers and shot just 26.9 percent (7 of 26) in the second half after hitting 45.8 percent (11 of 24) in the first half. CSU shot 37.5 percent (12 of 32) from the floor in the second half.

“It’s not easy to win,” Williams said, “and it’s just important that they get to experience that and feel good and we can go into that locker room and put a smile on our face instead of gritting our teeth and saying ‘Darn it.’